Coventry heroes escaping the Ghost Town
In 1981 – Coventry really was the Ghost Town but local heroes like Neville Staple and Errol Christie were trying to make a difference – as Tony McMahon reports
1981 riots
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Terry Hall from The Specials – 1959-2022
Just a week before Christmas 2022 – the lead singer of The Specials Terry Hall passed away as Tony McMahon reports
British Asian youth on the march
British Asian youth began a concerted fightback against racism and bigotry in the late 1970s after a period of horrific attacks as Tony McMahon discovers
Memories of Liverpool in 1981 – part seven
The 1981 riots in Liverpool and elsewhere were a political challenge for Marxists, especially the Militant, as Tony McMahon discovers
Memories of Liverpool in 1981 – part six
Before and after the 1981 riots in Liverpool, the big question was who should control the Merseyside police as Tony McMahon discovers
Memories of Liverpool in 1981 – part five
To what extent did poor relations between the community in Toxteth and the Merseyside police lead to the 1981 riots? Tony McMahon reports
Memories of Liverpool in 1981 – part four
Liverpool had seen massive riots in 1981 and now Prime Minister Thatcher and the establishment needed to react as Tony McMahon discovers
Memories of Liverpool in 1981 – part three
The media faced a huge challenge covering the 1981 riots but ENG technology was revolutionising TV news as Tony McMahon discovers
Memories of Liverpool in 1981 – part two
In these blog posts, I’m casting my mind back to my first year at university in Liverpool. I arrived in the aftermath of the Toxteth riots and a city in ferment. Can’t deny it was very exciting. But it was also a time of massive poverty and sky-high rates of unemployment as well as shocking…
Memories of Liverpool in 1981 – part one
Tony McMahon recalls how he arrived as a student in Liverpool in 1981 after a summer of riots had devastated Toxteth